Stamps

What to collect

After a short period of accumulating stamps most collectors decide to specialise in their collection.

The most popular collection is individual or groups of countries.

Other collectors look for periods of time or specific items on stamps such as flowers, dogs or maps.

Sets of stamps are prized and first day covers are especially prized.

How to store your stamps

The most popular methods of storage is albums .

The old paper album with stamps help in place by adhesive hinges are no longer popular as the hinges can damage the stamps.

The modern album has sheets of plastic with pockets for the stamps.

These albums allow for more sheets to be added as your collection expands.

Remember to buy albums from reputable sources to ensure that the plastic used is safe and does not damage the stamp.

How to decide the age of a stamp

The first stamp was the penny black issued in 1840.

Since then stamps have been issued in virtually every country of the world and in 160 years that means a lot of stamps!

The easiest way of dating a stamp is to use a catalogue like Stanley Gibbons which lists and pictures countries stamps.

UK stamps can often be dated from the appearance of the sovereign.

Many modern stamps commemorate some event which also aids dating.

Used stamps may have a postmark which will tell when they were posted although this may be different from the date that they were issued.

A magnifying glass to get a close look at the stamps may help.

Buying stamps

Whilst there are specialist shops and stamp fairs that attract serious collectors most stamps nowadays are bought from the internet.

There are several reputable dealers in the internet that list stamps for sale.

Joining a stamp club can be good as many supply packets of stamps that can be inspected at home and then unwanted stamps can be returned.

Buying from auction sites can bring bargains but can also bring big problem to the unwary..

What grades are given to Stamps?

Postage stamps are graded as extremely fine, very fine, fine, good, average, fair, and below average.

Very few stamps are extremely fine

When judging the grades everything has to be taken into account from the quality of the gum on the rear to the printing and any marks or damage to the stamp.

Faked and Forged Stamps

Faked and forged stamps are a growing problem.

Many collectors have forgeries without ever knowing.

Faked stamps are original stamps that have been enhanced to make them more valuable.

Common examples are new gum applied to the rear, damage covered by fake postmarks, perforation added and specific dates or cancelled notices added

It often takes an expert to spot a faked stamp but as these tend to be in the higher valued stamps it should not be too much of a problem for newer collectors.

Forgeries are more of a problem as they may well affect a newer collector.

Once again they are difficult to detect unless they can be compared directly with the real stamp.

Most professional dealers will spot a fake or forgery and will not sell it on but some online/ auction site dealers may not have the expertise to recognise the problem and sell on a fake or forged stamp.

The good news is that there are so many real stamps in circulation that forgeries and fakes tend to only be worthwhile for the most valuable stamps.